Cost of new Arlington bus stop: $1 million

A new bus stop on Columbia Pike cost more than $1 million to build, according to a county spokeswoman.

The new prototype “Super Stop” at the corner of Columbia Pike and Walter Reed Drive cost $575,000 for construction and fabrication and $440,000 for construction management and special inspections, according to Arlington County Department of Environmental Services spokeswoman Shannon Whalen McDaniel.

Of the $1 million cost, just over $200,000 was paid for by the county, with the rest coming from the Virginia Department of Transportation, Whalen McDaniel said.

Much of the hefty cost can be attributed to the fact that the enhanced bus stop was a prototype for what will eventually be a network of 24 “Super Stops” up and down Columbia Pike, according to Whalen McDaniel. The stops will eventually serve the Columbia Pike streetcar system.

“Since this stop is the first of its kind, the cost is higher than your typical off-the-shelf bus shelter,” she said.”The costs will be greatly reduced with future stops moving forward, as the construction costs for this prototype included a number of first time design and set-up costs.”

“It’s too early to provide a cost estimate for the future stops, but it will be much less,” Whalen McDaniel said.

The Walter Reed stop features shelter for some 15 passengers, lighting, an electronic display that shows when the next buses are coming, and a number of unbranded newspaper boxes. It opened last week after nearly a year and a half of on-again, off-again construction activity.

Crews are expected to begin work this spring on a “Barton West” Super Stop near Penrose Square, followed by work on new stops at Columbus and Dinwiddie Streets later this summer.